The aggressively competitive automobile industry continuously strives to provide new and exciting features to the new model automobiles. A focus toward style, creature comforts and safety has been a major factor in differentiating one competitor's products from others and premium models from budget models.
With many automobile owners not satisfied with the style, quality, and availability of the features provided by the automakers, owners have turned to aftermarket component manufacturers and even automobile kit manufacturers for satisfaction. The owners of hot rod, street rod, and classic automobiles are always looking for ways to customize and differentiate their cars from others, and styling, shape and form are high on the list of attributes that these owners wish to improve.
One aspect of the automobile that has changed little is the flip-up trunk lid. FIGS. 1A and 1B are side views of an automobile 10 with a known flip-up trunk lid 12, in a closed position and an open position, respectively. FIG. 1C is a side view of a known hinge mechanism 16 for the flip-up trunk lid 12. The trunk lid 14 comprises a front edge 15 and an opposite rear edge 17. The hinge mechanism 16 includes a pair of hinge brackets 18 and a pair of hinge arms 20. Each hinge bracket 18 is coupled spaced-apart to a body panel 11 inside of the trunk 13. Each of the hinge arms 20 include a trunk lid end 21 and a hinge end 22 opposite the trunk lid end 21. The trunk lid ends 21 are coupled to the trunk lid 14 spaced-apart and adjacent the front edge 15 and the hinge ends 22 are pivotally coupled to respective hinge brackets 18 defining a common pivot axis A.
The flip-up trunk lid 12 is suspended from the automobile 10 such that the trunk lid 14 pivots about the pivot axis A moving from a generally horizontal orientation in the closed position to a generally vertical position in the open position.
The hinge arms 20 are formed into a preferred shape to provide an extension necessary to permit the hinge brackets 18 to be mounted inside the trunk 13 while allowing the trunk lid 14 to pivot and clear the trunk opening 19. The preferred shape of the hinge arms 20 is adapted to extend the front edge 15 of the trunk lid 14 upward so as to clear the trunk opening 19 and other structures of the automobile 10, such as the rear windscreen. The stock hinge arm 20 shape can also act as a counter-weight to preferentially balance the trunk lid 14 so as to make the operation of the trunk lid 14 easier.
The hinge arms 20 are commonly manufactured from square or rectangular steel tubing that define a substantially square or rectangular bore cross-section, respectively.
The common pivot axis A permits rotation of the trunk lid 14 only within one plane. As the trunk lid 14 is opened, the rear trunk lid edge 17 swings up from the automobile 10 in a substantially vertical plane, whereby a space for access into the trunk 13 is formed like a clam shell with the trunk lid 14 pivoting up and toward the front of the automobile 10.
Many automobile enthusiasts consider it highly desirable to incorporate exotic features into their ordinary stock automobiles. Modifying the opening characteristics of the flip-up trunk lid 12 has, for the most part, been out of reach of the aftermarket enthusiast.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art to have components and assemblies that provide automobile manufacturers and aftermarket enthusiasts the ability to impart various opening characteristics to the flip-up trunk lid of currently designed automobiles without major modification to the automobile body or trunk lid structures.